Yarn feeding and storage apparatus



Nov. 20, 1962 T. v. M CLURE ETAL YARN FEEDING AND STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1960 INVENTORSI THOMAS V. MCCLURE JOHN MCNUTT 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTY.

Nov. 20, 1962 T. v. M'CCLURE ETAL 3,064,323

' YARN FEEDING AND STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 mvz NTORSY THOMAS V. McCLURE JOHN MCNUTT BY @6490;

ATTY.

Nov. 20, 1962 T. v. M CLURE ETAL 3,064,323v

v YARN FEEDING AND STORAGE APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.6.

mvsrrrons: THOMAS M. McCLURE JOHN McNUTT BY wiaw ATTY.

Nov. 20, 1962 T. v. MCCLURE ETAL 3,064,328

YARN FEEDING AND STORAGE APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 8, 1960 avg v 3,064,328 KARI I FEEDING AND STGRAGE APPARATUS Tnopias V McEEui-e, Lexington, 7a., and .Iohn McNutt,

time Eels, Pa, assignors to James Lees and Sons Company, ridgepcrt, Pa, a corporation of Deiaware Fired Sept. 8, 1969, Ser. No. 54,735 6 Elaims. (Cl. 28--21) This invention relates to yarn treating equipment and more particularly to apparatus for controlling the deposit and withdrawal of a yarn sliver from a liquid treatment container.

In the processing of continuous filament synthetic yarn and particularly a bulked or crimped nylon continuous filament yarn of the type currently used to produce soft floor coverings, various problems have presented themselves in connection with the efficient and safe handling of the yarn. It has been found that the dyeing of such yarn can be satisfactorily performed in an apparatus called a pad dyer which is shown schematically in conjunction with the present invention but which forms no part per se of the invention. The problem with which applicants were faced was the provision of a satisfactory device for depositing the yarn in the form that it is delivered from the pad dyer into the kettle or basket in which it is to be transferred to an autoclave for heat setting and other treatment, and from which basket the sliver must be removed as rapidly as possible without tangling or snagging. in some cases the sliver comprising 25-30 yarn ends is beamed from the basket before twisting. in other methods the sliver is fed directly from the basket to a twisting machine. In either event the yarn must be withdrawn at a rapid rate from the basket without any tangling or interruption.

The present invention, therefore, has for its primary object the provision of apparatus for rapidly receiving and storing lengths of dyed continuous filament yarn in such a manner that further yarn processing can be accomplished expeditiously and the yarn readily removed from the container without damage or tangling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for motivating a perforated autoclave basket or kettle in such a way that yarn continuous.y deposited in the basket can be treated and then rapidly removed therefrom.

A further obfiect of the invention is to provide a mechanism for imparting rotational, linear horizontal, and linear vertical movement to a yarn basket.

A further object is to provide suitable means for controlling the evenness with which yarn delivered to a basket is deposited therein.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the basket supporting and motivating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is a top view of URE 1,

FEGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional detail as seen at 3-3 of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a section as seen at 44 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a section of the yarn container or basket shown in FIGURES l and 2,

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the basket shown in FIG- URE 5 indicating the path followed by the yarn deposited therein,

FIGURE 7 is a schematic view of a pad dyer from which the colored yarn ends are fed into the basket,

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged detail showing the vibrating funnel for controlling the waviness of the yarn ends when placed into the basket as seen at 8-8 of FIGURE 7, and

FIGURE 9 is a section as seen at 9-9 of FIGURE 7.

the apparatus of FIG- Patented Nov. 2o, tees ice v driving connections between motor 19 and carriage 17 which comprise a speed reducing and regulating unit Zll and reducing gears 21 and 22, the latter of which is pinned to a shaft 23 which carries a heartshaped plate cam 24. The cam groove 25 on plate cam 24- controls cam follower 26 on rocker arm 27 pivotally anchored to the upper part of frame member 23 in a pillow block 29. A cable or chain 31 is anchored at each end of carriage 17 by means of suitable connections 31 and 32. The chain 36 passes over a fixed sprocket 33 mounted on shaft 34 journaled in pedestals 32$ and 36. From thence the chain 30 passes underneath the carriage 17 and around sprocket 37 keyed to shaft 38 journaled in pillow blocks 39, 39. Another chain 49 is carried around sprocket 41 also pinned to shaft 38, thence around a sprocket 42 pinned to shaft 43 and journaled in pillow blocks 44, 44 mounted on frame members 45, 45. Chain 4% is rigidly secured to the lower extremity of arm 27 by means of a suitable clamp 45 so that pivoting movement of arm 27 in pillow block 29 under control of cam 25 rotates sprocket 37 first in one direction and then in the other to impart a reciprocating linear motion to carriage 17 on tracks 15 and 16.

In addition to the above-described linear movement of carriage 17, we also cause the yarn basket to be jounced by means of a motor 51 mounted on the carriage and connected to a shaft 52 through a reduction speed control unit 53, sprocket 54, chain 55, and sprocket 56. This last-named sprocket is pinned to shaft 52 which controls the jouncing movement that may optionally be imparted to the basket St}. A cam fit?" (FIG. 3) is keyed to shaft 52 and is provided with an abrupt-drop face 61 in such a way that as shaft 52 rotates, one end of saddle .62 is gradually elevated and then dropped with substantial impact, thus controlling the density of the yarn fiber F in the basket 50. Saddle 62 controls the vertical or jouncing movement of basket shaft 63 by means of a swinging trunnion assembly 64- journaled in saddle 62 at 65, 65 and retained on the shaft 63 by means of collars 66, 66. The opposite end of saddle 62 is mounted on a shaft 67 which is in turn journaled in trunnions 68 and 69 on carriage i7. Shaft 63 is journaled at the lower end in a trunnion 70 and at the upper end it is splined at 71 with the hub of sprocket 72 journaled in trunnion 73. This construction permits free rotation of shaft 63 under the driving control of sprocket 72 and at the same time provides vertical movement for the shaft and the basket when cam 69 elevates the roller 74 to pivot the entire saddle 62 on shaft 67. Roller 74 is retained on shaft 75 by means of collars 76, 76 and the shaft 75 is pinned in bosses 77, 77 on the saddle frame. Rotation of shaft 63 and consequently basket 50 is achieved by driving connections between motor 7% and sprocket 72 splined to shaft 63. A chain 7? connects sprocket 72 and sprocket 3t and a speed control unit 81 in turn controls the output delivered to sprocket 8t} and chain 79 through a chain to motor 78. The upper end of shaft 63 is provided with a supporting plate or table 82 which is rigidly attached to the shaft by means of hub 83 riveted to the plate or table 82 at 84 and 35. An aligning dowel or pad 86 may be used as a means for properly centering the basket 5 on the disc 82.

In operation, the basket 50 travels to and from a yarn delivery funnel in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGURES 5 and 7. Additionally, the basket is rotated by meansof motor 78 so that the path described by the yarn F as it is deposited in the yarn basket follows the star shaped outline shown in broken lines in FIGURE 6. In some situations it may be desirable to permit the yarn in the basket to remain in a relatively bulked or loose condition in order to obtain maximum fluid penetration when the basket is in the autoclave. If, however, depending upon the type and density of the yarn being fed into the basket, it is desired to provide a more compact mass of yarn therein the motor 51 can be started to periodically jog or bounce the basket thus giving greater compaction.

Referring to FIGURE 7, the overall application of the present invention is described in conjunction with a pad dyer to which a plurality of yarn ends Y,Y are fed from a creel, not shown, around suitable yarn guides 100, 101, 102, 103, and 104 to a comb 105 thence over guide 106 and into the dye bath 197. The yarn ends then pass under a submerged guide 193, through comb 109 and a squeeze roller 11%) and 111. The dye bath 107 is circulated in a vat 115 by means of a pump 115 which delivers excess dye liquor from a catch basin 117 to the reservoir 118 through conduit 119. A valve 120 in the discharge conduit 121 controls the dyebath make-up which is returned to the vat 115. Suitable heating elements 120 and 121 are positioned around the base of the dye vat 115 to maintain the proper temperature of the dye bath. 'It will be understood that the detailed construction of this dyeing device forms no part of the present invention but the invention is of extreme importance when utilized in connection with a continuous dyeing apparatus of the type just described. Such a yarn dyeing device is distinguished from other types such as skein or stock dyeing in which a batch procedure is necessarily used as distinguished from a continuous procedure.

The yarn ends Y,Y pass from the squeezed rolls 110 and 111 over a yarn guide 125 and into a funnel 95 for collecting them and discharging them in the desired fashion into the basket 50. The funnel 95 serves to control the manner in which the sliver of yarn S descends into the basket. Where it is desired to impart a certain waviness or undulating characteristic to the sliver as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 8, we employ an air jet 126 (FIGURE 9) which is introduced tangentially to the inside of funnel 95 by means of a pipe 127 and through a valve 128. This tangential agitation of the sliver S as it passes downwardly through funnel 95 can be used to control the manner in which the yarn sliver is spread over each layer in the basket 50. If no agitation or spreading out of the sliver is desired, valve 128 may be closed to give the straight yarn pattern shown in full lines in FIGURE 8. If more or less agitation of the sliver as it passes into the basket is desired in order to provide more uniformly spread layers, then'the valve 128 may be opened to produce whatever distortion or agitation for the sliver is most desirable under the particular operating conditions. The primary purpose of controlling the manner in which the yarn is deposited in the basket is to facilitate the rapid removal of the yarn from the basket so that there will be no delay in the further spinning or treatment thereof. We have found that a star shaped pattern shown generally as S in FIGURE 6 provides satisfactory results. For most yarns little or no agitation by means of air jet 126 is necessary. In this event the valve 128 may be closed or barely open. By judicious adjustment of the motions of the yarn basket both rotationally and linearly, even layers of yarn F can be deposited in the basket which will not snarl nor break even after very rapid yarn removal. The star shaped lines in FIGURE 6 generally indicate the path followed by the center of the slivers and the arrows 130 in FIGURE indicate 'the radial travel of the sliver in the basket as the basket 7 is moved linearly. The yarn may be deposited in even layers 131, 132, and 133 by judiciously controlling the speed of basket travel and the speed of the squeeze a track for the carriage, means including motor controlled rollers 11% and 111. The, usual means for driving rollers 110 and 111 have been omitted in the interest of clarity since such devices are well known. In order to improve liquid circulation through the layers of yarn in the basket, a central perforated cylinder 135 is provided and the base 135 of this cylinder keys onto the boss or dowel S6 to retain the basket on plate 82 (FIGURE 3).

It has been found that the present invention provides an extremely satisfactory means for controlling the desired density of the yarn layers in a basket in such a way that maximum yarn handling eificiency is achieved. The vertical density of the yarn. in the basket can be varied by means of the jogging mechanism and also in part by means of the controlled air. jet in funnel 95. Lateral or radial density is controlled by regulating the speed of rotation and linear movement of the basket through the speed control units 20, 55, and 81, the latter of which regulates the rotational speed of the basket by means of the chain and sprocket drive between speed control unit 81 and sprocket 72.

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 7

1. ln yarn treating apparatus, the combination which comprises means for feeding running lengths or yarn strands, a receptacle into which said yarn strands are de-- livered, means for delivering said yarn strands into said eceptacle, a carriage on which said receptacle is mounted,

connections for oscillating said carriage and the receptacle on the track, a motor on the carriage, driving connections between said motor and the receptacle for rotating the receptacle around a vertical axis, and a table on the carriage for supporting the receptacle.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a funnel positioned between the yarn delivery means and the receptacle and an air blast directed into said funnel for controlling the path of yarn travel through the funnel and to the receptacle.

3. In yarn treating apparatus, the combination which comprises means for feeding running lengths of yarn strands, a perforated basket into which said yarn strands are delivered, means including a pair of rollers for delivering the yarn strands downwardly into said perforated basket, a carriage on which said basket is mounted, a track for the carriage, means including motor controlled connections for oscillating said carriage and the basket on the track, a motor on the carriage, driving connections between said motor and the basket for rotating the basket around a vertical axis, and a table on the carriage for supporting the basket.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 including a funnel positioned between the yarn delivery rollers and the basket and an air blast directed into said funnel for controlling the path of yarn travel through the funnel and to the receptacle.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 in which the air blast is directed tangentially into the funnel to control the path of yarn travel into the basket.

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 3 including a second motor on the carriage, a saddle pivotally mounted on the carriage and connected to the table, a cam for gradually elevating the saddle and the basket, said cam having an abrupt drop face, and driving connections between the second motor and the cam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,500,298 Chase July 8, 1924 1,939,117 Gross Dec. 12, 1933 2,098,890 Schmitz Nov. 9, 1937 2,282,568 Finzel May 12, 1942 2,355,071 Hendrickson Aug. 8, 1944 2,555,065 Thomson et al May 29, 1951 2,729,442 Keggin Oct. 11, 1955 

